Late Halloween 2013 Drabble
by NeoRetro10K
Summary: I know it's WAY past Halloween, but college got in the way, so sue me.


Halloween was quite the event in Amity Park, having become especially extravagant in the past few years to keep up with the city's "Most Haunted Town in America" moniker. The park and its surrounding area were filled to the brim with parade floats and giant balloons made to look like Jack-O-Lanterns, zombies, pieces of candy, and, yes, ghosts - some of which resembled some of the actual ghosts that appeared more frequently in the town, including the town's mysterious ghostly teenage protector, Danny Phantom, who fought against the other ghosts that threatened the town.

Decorations and parties were not just limited to the park; each house seemed to have a fog machine, or hidden speakers playing creepy sounds, or a mechanical zombie prop of some sort sitting on the front porch. But no house was more detailed than Fenton Works, home of the famous ghost-hunting Fenton parents and their two children. The building had even more neon lights than usual, but they were partially obscured by special ectoplasmically-enhanced fog that glowed a slight greenish color. The Ops Center on the roof had holographic projectors that made it appear as though bats were flying in circles around it, and some specially modified Tesla coils that created artificial lightning with a small enough charge to be harmless.

Though the adult Fentons held the viewpoint that ghosts were generally evil, even they could appreciate the fun of Halloween, and of dressing up as mythical creatures and fictional characters. The Fenton parents themselves had swapped out their regular jumpsuits for the Ghostbuster uniforms from the movie _Ghostbusters_, and they always looked forward to seeing the kinds of costumes the local kids could come up with, as originality was greatly encouraged due to the actual haunted status of the town. Even the ghost costumes were appraised with genuine lighthearted entertainment (at least by Mrs. Fenton - Mr. Fenton had been banned by his wife from answering the door on Halloween, convinced that every ghost costume contained an actual specter or apparition and blasting the unfortunate victims with ectoplasmic goo).

The Fentons' daughter Jasmine, more commonly known as Jazz, often spent time studying in her room on most days, and Halloween was no exception. She claimed to be above such "childish" things as costumes and trick-or-treating, but if one were to observe her desk closely, one would see that her old teddy bear, Bearbert Einstein, was sitting on the desk and holding a miniature pumpkin-shaped candy bucket, as well as wearing a witch hat.

The last member of the Fenton family, Danny (secretly Danny Phantom), had just finished scouring the town for candy along with his best friends Tucker Foley and Samantha "Sam" Manson. Tucker was dressed as an undead cybernetic pirate; Sam wore a witch hat along with a black cloak and cape that went over her regular clothes; and Danny had gone as an astronaut, complete with suit, helmet and oxygen backpack (Danny had briefly considered just going as Danny Phantom, but he quickly decided that the risk to his secret identity was too great). The trio had started at Fenton Works (they were too familiar with Danny's house to bother saving the best for last), and they had made their way around town to end their journey at Sam's mansion for a horror movie marathon on the giant screen in her basement while her parents were away for the weekend. The only adult in the house would be Sam's Grandma Ida, who always left the trio to their own devices.

"So, it looks like we got a seriously good haul this year," commented Tucker as they made their way towards Sam's porch. "I've got all sorts of goodies, _and_ we managed to avoid the fresh fruit and granola bars in the red zone!" Tucker pointed to his PDA screen, which contained a map of Amity Park with houses colored in either red or green, the red houses denoted in the map key with "DO NOT APPROACH - NO CANDY".

"Fruits and granola bars aren't _so_ bad, Tucker," replied Sam. "You're just incapable of enjoying anything even remotely healthy. You're gonna have a heart attack one day, and Danny's gonna have to phase the cholesterol out of your arteries with his ghost powers!"

"If he can do that, then I don't see why I _can't_ keep eating the way I do!" Tucker shot back. Danny decided to intervene before the argument could get out of hand.

"Ignoring the fact that you're blatantly taking me and my powers for granted, Tucker," he interrupted, "why don't we all just calm down, go inside, and enjoy a pleasant all-night movie marathon filled with zombies, gore, and terrified screaming?"

Tucker and Sam looked at one another for a few moments. "Can't argue with that," Tucker concluded.

"Yeah, but don't think this is over, Foley," Sam whispered. Tucker just gave her a smirk in return, causing Sam to eventually give in, one of the corners of her mouth rising a bit despite herself as the three kids went through the front door.

It was past 1 o'clock in the morning when the trio felt too tired to continue watching. Luckily, their curfews were extended due to it being both Halloween and a weekend. All three of them got up from the couch, stretching and yawning while Sam turned off the gigantic plasma screen.

"That was really great, guys, but I need to get home for my scheduled beauty sleep," Tucker yawned.

"Beauty sleep?" Sam repeated, intending to follow with a sarcastic remark, but settling for shaking her head in her tiredness.

"Whatever we call it, I think we should all get some rest. I'm surprised the ghosts actually left us alone on Halloween, and we have no idea what tomorrow's gonna be like," Danny advised.

The trio ascended the stairs, Sam showing the two boys to the door. Before they could open it, they heard someone speak.

"Did you have a nice night, kids?" Ida Manson, Sam's grandmother, asked from her wheelchair seat in the foyer.

"Sure did!" answered Tucker, while Danny uttered a polite "Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I think you're forgetting something," Ida hinted, holding up a huge bowl of candy. "My son and his wife are away for the weekend, and I'm afraid I didn't hear you come in earlier, so I didn't get a chance to hand it out myself." She held out a jumbo-sized chocolate bar to Tucker.

"Thanks a bunch, Mrs. M.!" Tucker exclaimed as he took the candy.

"And here's some for you, Danny," Ida continued, handing him _three_ jumbo-sized bars.

"Um, Mrs. Manson, I think you might have given me more candy than you meant to," Danny mumbled.

"Oh, nonsense, dear! After all," she smiled mischievously, "this _is_ practically _your_ holiday!"

"W-what d'you mean by that, ma'am?" Danny stammered while Sam and Tucker suddenly stared at them.

"Oh, it's probably just the nonsensical babbling of an old woman," Ida deflected with a playful wink. "Anyway, I know your curfews aren't so early tonight, but it's probably best if you two boys get going before your parents start to worry." Though she was in a wheelchair, Ida somehow managed to push Danny and Tucker out the front door without resistance while Sam could only keep staring.

Tucker "woke up" first, waving his hand in front of Danny's face while Danny continued to stare straight ahead, unblinking. Eventually giving up, Tucker walked away with his hands in his pockets, glancing back uncertainly at the Manson mansion every so often until he turned the corner.

When Danny himself finally snapped out of his shock, he simply walked home, reflecting that this had probably been the most interesting Halloween in his life.


End file.
